Gohan's First Kiss
by Dr. Trunks Briefs
Summary: A sweet, childlike one-shot featuring Gohan and Dende's curiosity about kissing.


"Hold your left hand like this, Gohan," Chichi instructed as she hovered over her son's shoulder. The little boy awkwardly adjusted the two pencils- one in each hand- to write his name over and over. "Practice makes perfect. If you learn to write with both hands, you could play any instrument you wanted!" Her eyes sparkled as she danced happily behind him. Gohan rolled his eyes.

"Now, don't stop, Gohan. I have to fold the laundry," Chichi was still daisies and sunshine as she skipped out of her son's bedroom. It just made her so happy when Gohan was studying!

The door clicked shut. Gohan waited a moment, giving his mother time to lose herself in her housework. When she began humming happily, he smirked and dropped the pencils on his desk. He hopped down from his wooden chair and strolled over to the large, double-door window and pulled it open. The breeze licked the little boy's face and neck warmly. Dragging in a pleasant breath, Gohan smiled again and heaved himself over the windowsill.

Not bothering to close the window again, he tiptoed into the safety of the forest. The midmorning sunlight sparkled through the leaves, leaving streaks of light on the pathway.

"Icarus! Where are you?" Gohan called. A moment later, the bushes rustled and a giant, purple head popped out not inches away from Gohan's face.

"Gah!" Gohan squeaked as the monster left a long, slobbery lick on his cheek. The boy laughed and wiped the saliva off, dampening his white sleeve. He gave the dragon a hug.

"Come on, Icarus; let's go to Bulma's. Dende should be there waiting for us!" Gohan tugged his pet out of the bushes. The dragon purred happily and wiggled its tail, as if motioning for the little boy to climb on. Gohan grinned excitedly and pulled himself onto the dragon's back. He secured his legs behind Icarus's short purple arms and latched his hands onto its horns.

With a short run and a little hop, the two friends were off into the sky.

-

Gohan and Icarus landed just outside the Capsule Corp doors, surprising many of the standbyers. After all, how often do you see a little boy riding on a fat, purple dragon? Ignoring them, Gohan pulled open one of the large glass doors and nearly tripped over himself trying to get inside. Icarus followed just as clumsily with its excitement.

"Ugh! Get that thing out of here!" A shrill older woman yelled.

"Yeah, that monster belongs outside!" Agreed a rather portly male.

"Ah, it's okay, I'm just here to see my friend," Gohan smiled up at the adults, who were glaring condescendingly at him.

"This is Capsule Corporation, kid, not the playground," A taller, muscled man mumbled and crossed his arms.

"Oh calm down, all of you. Hey, Gohan!" Bulma smiled when she entered the lobby. "So, you're the one causing all of this noise? And here I thought we were having a problem. I got a call saying a rambunctious kid brought a monster into the building, so I brought him," she tilted her head in Vegeta's direction. Said man glared harshly at the troublesome little boy.

"I came, so I still get that loaf of banana bread, woman," Vegeta growled. Bulma rolled her eyes.

"But, Miss Bulma that _is_ the kid that was causing trouble. Look!" insisted a secretary. Bulma ignored her and strolled over to her best friend's son.

"Are you here to see Dende, Gohan?" Bulma smiled when he nodded his head feverishly.

"Yes ma'am. I rode on Icarus so that he could play with Dende, too. I'm sorry for causing trouble; I shouldn't have let Icarus come inside, too…" A soft finger cut off his rambling. Bulma smiled at him as she kneeled in front of him, making herself eye level.

"Oh, come on, Gohan, enough with the apologies. You coming here with your Haiya Dragon is nothing compared to what that lug over there does every day."

Vegeta released a breath through his nose and glared daggers into the blue haired woman.

This made Gohan feel a little better. Bulma stood back up and patted Icarus's head, who purred and nuzzled her hand in return.

"It's almost like he can understand us," she mused. "Anyway, Dende's in the garden, like always. Try not to blow anything up, okay?" Gohan agreed happily and took off to the back garden, nearly knocking Vegeta over in the process. The Saiyan prince growled and held up his hand, preparing to blast the brat to smithereens when the intoxicating aroma of banana bread filled his nose.

_Mmm. Banana bread._

-

"Dende!" Gohan called when the smaller green Namek came into view. Dende turned and smiled at his friend, but the Saiyan cut him off by tackling him to the ground.

"Bah, Gohan!" Dende giggled and squirmed under the other boy. Gohan rolled off of his friend and sat up next to him.

"Oh, is that your Haiya Dragon?" Dende stared up at the monster. Icarus practically dwarfed him in size. "Wow."

"Yeah, that's Icarus. He dances, too! Wanna watch?" Gohan hopped to his feet excitedly. Dende followed suit and nodded enthusiastically. The Saiyan stood in line with his animal friend and nodded.

"One, two, three!" Gohan started whistling a little tune and kept time by bouncing from side to side.

Dende's hairless brow twitched.

Icarus fluttered into the air and copied Gohan's motions, moving to an invisible beat.

Dende's antennae twitched.

Gohan floated into the air to join the dragon, happily spinning around with him and continuing his whistle.

Dende clutched his ears with his hands, "G-Gohan, please! Stop! It's terrible!"

Gohan stopped on command and floated down to Earth. The hurt expression on his face told the words he seemed to be unable to find. Dende offered a weak smile.

"No, not the music or the dance, Gohan. I liked it; it's just… well, that high pitched sound you made… it hurt my ears."

"Oh, Piccolo said the same thing," Gohan's smile returned. "I guess it's a Namek thing."

Dende nodded, "I suppose so."

Gohan planted himself at the top of the little hill overlooking the manmade pond and flopped onto his back, enjoying the sunlight. It was a nice getaway from his studying, even though he knew his mother would kill him when he got home. He'd rather not think about it. Dende joined him on the hill and reclined back into his little green hands. His eyes drifted over to the hybrid boy next to him.

"Gohan, do you know what kissing is?" He asked suddenly. Gohan turned his head and cocked an eyebrow.

"It's where you put your lips to someone else's, right?" Dende nodded.

"What does it mean?"

Gohan chewed on the inside of his cheek, "Mom says that you only kiss people you love."

"Oh. …What's love?"

"I think it's where you really, really like somebody."

"So, what does kissing have to do with love?"

"Hmm…" Gohan thought for a moment. "Well, when Mom and Dad kiss, it makes them happy. Why do you ask?" Dende squirmed and stroked a nearby flower's petal.

"Well, I saw Bulma and Vegeta kissing."

Gohan's eyes doubled in size, but Dende ignored it.

"Gohan, I really, really like you. Does that mean… that I love you?" Gohan sat up and smiled.

"I guess so. I really, really like you, too, Dende. I've never had a friend my age before," Gohan's smile grew wider. "So, I love you, too!"

"Okay!" Dende returned the smile. "Then, I can kiss you, right? You said people who kiss are happy. I want to make you happy, Gohan. I want to kiss you." Gohan blushed.

"Okay. Here, turn this way," Gohan mumbled bashfully as he positioned himself in front of his little Namek friend. Dende turned to the Saiyan and sat up on his knees. Heart racing, Gohan recalled his parents' motions and awkwardly wrapped his arms around Dende's waist. He leaned forward slowly, puckering his lips.

"Wait!" Dende covered Gohan's mouth with one green hand. Having lost his nerve, Gohan pulled away instantly and brought his arms back to his own sides. Dende just giggled in his musical voice, "I said _I_ want to kiss _you_."

"O-oh," A small feeling of relief swept through his mind, allowing his cheeks to cool down slightly. Dende placed his hands on Gohan's thighs and leaned forward, hovering inches away.

"Uh, c-close your eyes," Dende mumbled. His breath tickled Gohan's lips, making his face heat up more. Gohan abided and his eyelids fell. Dende gulped, attempting to control his heart rate. He shut his own eyes and closed the distance quickly.

Gohan's lips were so soft. Despite their abuse via his lip chewing habit, the skin was perfectly smooth and equally warm. Excitement exploded from his heart and filled his body, making his arms tremble. Warm hands gripped them in a comforting, gentle fashion.

The kiss seemed to end a little too quickly. The two alien boys pulled away and sat side-by-side, staring out to the pond.

"That was…" Dende struggled for the right words. Great? Fantastic? Nerve-wracking? Incredible? Awesome? _How about all of the above?_ Dende blushed.

"Amazing," Gohan finished simply. Silence followed. "Er, Dende?"

"Yes, Gohan?" Dende answered softly.

"…You're not gonna eat my head, are you?" Dende looked at him incredulously.

"What? Why would I do that?"

"Well… one of my text books said that sometimes the girl will eat the boy's head," Gohan glanced up to Dende's amused face.

"No, Gohan, I'm not going to eat your head." Gohan smiled and stared back up to the sky. "I'll just drink your blood." His eyes tripled in size and he looked over to Dende's mischievous grin. Gohan squeaked and jumped to his feet, but Dende just laughed and tackled him. The force knocked the two aliens to the ground and they rolled down the hill, one on top of the other, laughing and squealing all the way.

Yes, they were happy now.

-

Vegeta stuffed another loaf into his mouth.

_Mmm. Banana bread._

-

Yay! I love Dende's sweetness. He's such a great friend to Gohan, too. It's sad that we didn't get to see Gohan and Dende play in the series, though. Ah, well.

Thanks for reading!

Review now!

-don darko.


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